Home›Open Questions›What plant was the original Vedic soma?Open QuestionsWhat plant was the original Vedic soma?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "What plant was the original Vedic soma?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/what-plant-was-the-original-vedic-soma.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). What plant was the original Vedic soma?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/what-plant-was-the-original-vedic-somaCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-what-plant-was-the-original-vedic-soma, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {What plant was the original Vedic soma?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/what-plant-was-the-original-vedic-soma}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesEssays About This Entity (1 essay)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Open QuestionThe Rig Veda describes soma's habitat, preparation and effects, but the living tradition lost the plant before the late Vedic period, when the ritual texts already prescribe substitutes. Two centuries of proposals (ephedra, fly agaric, Syrian rue, and others, including Wasson's 1968 book-length fly agaric case) each fit some verses and fail others, and no candidate has won consensus.What would resolve this Archaeobotanical residue analysis from an early Vedic or BMAC-context ritual vessel with identifiable plant remains, or a decisive phytochemical match between the full Rigvedic description and a candidate species in its Indo-Iranian range.OpenArchaeobotany and Vedic philologyStephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton, The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of IndiaCross-Tradition ConnectionsDiscipline NeededArchaeobotany, Scholarly Disciplines Well-attested Source The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of IndiaStephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Breretontier 1Vedic Philology, Scholarly Disciplines Well-attested Source The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of IndiaStephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Breretontier 1Question OnSoma Sacrifice, Rituals Well-attested Source The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of IndiaStephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Breretontier 1SourcesThe Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of Indiatier 1Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton, Oxford University Press, 2014Introduction, on soma and its identificationView the SourceEssays About This Entity (1 essay)Vedic Philology's Three Questions Are Really Two: One Date Asked Twice, and One PlantThe open question itself, confirmed publicComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year